In science class, we learned about meteors and looked at pictures Ms. Becker had taken of a meteoric crater in the Arizona desert.

Are you a word wiz?

"Meteoric" has another meaning besides the one above. It is applied to things that remind people of meteors because of a particular quality, and begins "resembling a meteor in . . ." Which of the answers below correctly completes the definition?

A. unpredictability of movement

B. hardness or in roughness of texture

C. in rarity or in greatness of value

D. speed or in sudden and temporary brilliance

Answer D is the one to shoot for today! "Meteoric" is often used to mean "resembling a meteor in speed or in sudden and temporary brilliance" in sentences like "Her role in the movie gave Rosie her meteoric rise to fame." Another word from the heavens that has more than one meaning is "stellar." "Stellar" means "of or relating to stars" (from Latin "stella" meaning "star"), but it also acquired the extended meanings of "principle, leading," as in "Ethan played the stellar role in the comedy," and "outstanding," as in "Your work is stellar!"